8/7/2019 The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

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1 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

The “Border Security First” Argument:

A Red Herring Undermining Real SecurityAssessing DHS Progress and Looking Forward

Marshall Fitz, Angela M. Kelley, Ann Garcia March 2011

Opponens o comprehensive immigraion reorm argue ha we need a ully secure bor-

der beore we can sysemically overhaul our immigraion laws. Ironically, he “ border

securiy rs” manra is acually hwaring progress on border securiy.

Te argumen o delay broader immigraion reorms unil he border is secure relies on

he ollowing dubious assumpions:

• Congress’s curren “operaional conrol” sandard—implying absolue conrol o he

border—is realisic and achievable.• Te American public will rejec pracical legislaive reorms unless and unil he bor-

der is ully secured.• Te adminisraion has ailed o demonsrae adequae commimen o border

enorcemen o jusiy broader reorms.

Te evidence belies each o hese poins, and his brie examines hem in urn. I also

shows—as he Cener or American Progresshas done beore—ha he Deparmen o 

Homeland Securiy, or DHS, me and exceeded sringen enorcemen benchmarks ha

“border securiy rs” supporers laid ou in legislaion ha ailed o pass Congress in 2007.

I is pas ime o pu aside his ired expression and sar working on comprehensive

soluions o x he sysem.

“Total control” is impossible

Some grandsanding lawmakers sugges ha nohing shor o “oal conrol o our souh-

ern border, our norhern border, and our naural pors o enry” will suce o declare our

borders secure. Bu no serious exper believes i is possible o seal our borders.

“At some point in

time, you’ve got to

say to yoursel, we’re

not sending 12

million people home

Now, let’s get over it

– Tom Ridg

the country’s rst secreta

o Homeland Securi

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2 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

Te “operaional conrol” deniion Congress adoped in 2006 ses he bar a an una-

ainable level: “he prevenion o all unlawul enries ino he Unied Saes, including

enries by erroriss, oher unlawul aliens, insrumens o errorism, narcoics, and oher

conraband.” Ye even he Border Parol’s curren inerpreaion o his unrealisic con-

gressional operaional conrol sandard does no conemplae an impermeable wall. Te

Border Parol denes i as he abiliy o deec, ideniy, classiy, and hen respond o and

resolve illegal enries along our U.S. borders.” Bu as Homeland Securiy Secreary JaneNapoliano explains, operaional conrol is a “very narrow erm o ar” ha “does no

reec he inrasrucure and echnology and all he oher hings ha happen a he border.”

Border securiy is much more han creaing barriers. I enails a hos o overlapping

conrols ha help regulae he ows o goods and people in an orderly manner while

prevening hose who mean o harm us rom enering. Tose conrols include a combi-

naion o inelligence ools, physical barriers, manpower, and virual deecion capabili-

ies a and beween pors o enry. Bu hey also include esablishing realisic regulaory 

channels ha can unnel legiimae enrans ino he legal sysem and resoring he rule

o law in our labor marke by dealing wih he curren undocumened populaion.

Evaluaing “border securiy,” hereore, canno and should no be measured agains a

sandard o oal conrol. No even he Berlin Wall, wih is consan parolling, machine

gun owers, relaively small lengh, and urban locaion could preven escapes. Border

securiy and operaional conrol should be measured in erms o risk managemen. Te

quesion should be: Have we implemened he righ se o policies and deployed he

righ se o ools o minimize risk and maximize conrol in a consanly changing envi-

ronmen wih evolving challenges?

As ormer Secreary Michael Chero said recenly: “You can, depending where youare on he border, use a series o ools in order o minimize he ow. Is i going o be

an absolue seal? No. Bu will i, again, manage he risk in conjuncion wih hese oher

ools? Yes.”

Moreover, Chero, om Ridge, and Jane Napoliano—he only hree people o

have served as secreary o homeland securiy since he deparmen was creaed—all

concluded a a recen even honoring he eighh anniversary o he Homeland Securiy 

Deparmen’s creaion ha exraordinary work has been done in srenghening he bor-

der bu ha an airigh border is unachievable and lasing and eecive border securiy 

requires an overhaul o our immigraion sysem.

Ridge observed ha: “A some poin in ime, you’ve go o say o yoursel, we’re no

sending 12 million people home. Now, le’s ge over i … le’s jus gure ou a way o

legiimize heir saus, creae a new sysem. And I hink ha will add more o border

securiy han any number o ences we can pu across he souhern border.”

“Is it going to be an

absolute seal? No.”

– Michael Chertof, orm

secretary o Homeland Securi

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3 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

While we coninue o srive or beter conrol o our borders we can no longer le he

perec be he enemy o he good. I’s ime o ake he nex sep in securing our border:

meaningully reorming our immigraion laws.

The public is hungry for a solution

Americans are undeniably rusraed wih illegal immigraion. Everyone wans a secure

border. Bu Americans are also realisic, and hey are calling or ough, pragmaic solu-

ions, no more empy plaiudes such as “border securiy rs.”

Te signs o biparisan pragmaism on his issue are everywhere excep he conservaive

corridors o Congress. For years now, virually every poll shows ha srong majoriies

o Americans o every poliical sripe suppor ough border securiy, a crackdown on

unlawul employers, and requiring undocumened immigrans o regiser, pass back-

ground checks, pay axes, and earn ciizenship.

ellingly, boh srenghening he border and dealing wih he curren populaion

receives signicanly higher suppor han doing only one or he oher. Las February, a

poll in conservaive Idaho highlighed ha he sae’s residens hink illegal immigraion

is a problem and ha hey suppor srong sae enorcemen legislaion. Bu he highes

level o suppor (73 percen) was or a program enabling undocumened immigrans o

permanenly remain in he Unied Saes.

Uah, one o he mos conservaive saes in he counry, is anoher recen case in

poin. As i grappled wih legislaion o address illegal immigraion i became clear ha

Arizona’s enorcemen-only approach was insucien. Uah’s Republican sae legisla-ure evenually passed a ough package o enorcemen measures on March 15—overly 

harsh and misguided in our view—bu hey also creaed a program o bring he sae’s

undocumened residens ino he legal old. Te legislaion is deeply awed on a variey 

o rons, and ulimaely only Congress can solve hese problems. Bu i reinorced he

need or a pracical soluion over an ideological saemen.

We’ve had nearly a year o reec on Arizona’s heavy-handed enorcemen approach o

immigraion, and cooler heads have prevailed. Conservaives now look o move in a

more consrucive direcion. wo highly conservaive saes, Idaho and Uah, are signal-

ing srong suppor or a more pragmaic approach, echoing consisen public opinion

research on he issue over he las our years.

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4 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

Obama’s enforcement efforts exceed his Republican predecessor’s

Te nal argumen he “ border securiy rs” crowd raises is ha Presiden Obama’s

Deparmen o Homeland Securiy demonsraes a lack o commimen o immigraion

and border enorcemen ha undermines public condence in any changes o immigra-

ion law. Te numbers ell a dieren sory.

Te Obama adminisraion depored 392,862 people during scal year 2010—nearly 

hal o hese deporees were conviced o a crime. Over he las wo years hey have

depored more han 779,000 people, which is an 18 percen increase rom Presiden

George W. Bush’s las wo scal years in oce.

No only ha, bu he adminisraion coninues o engage sae and local law 

enorcemen ocers by aggressively deploying a number o conroversial pro-

grams such as he 287(g) and Secure Communiies iniiaives, which aim o

give specic immigraion enorcemen uncions o nonederal agens. Secure

Communiies expanded rom 14 jurisdicions in 2008 o over 1,000 oday.

Wha’s more, Immigraion and Cusoms Enorcemen, or ICE, ramped up

is workorce compliance eors o unprecedened levels. ICE charged

180 employers wih criminal violaions relaed o unlawul hiring in FY 

2010 and conduced more han 2,200 audis. Tose audis resuled in nearly 

$43 million in penalies.

Layered on op o a undamenally broken sysem, we believe many o 

hese enorcemen sraegies need horough audis, regular adjusmen, and

careul monioring. Unorunaely, oo ofen he execuion o hese eorsis counerproducive and inics unnecessary harm and suering. Despie

admirable atemps o prioriize he ocus on serious hreas, hundreds

o housands o hard-working amilies have been orn apar. Te economic and

humaniarian eecs o hese rupures are severe. Noneheless, hese eors and hose

skeched below belie he claim ha his adminisraion and his agency lack a deep

commimen o immigraion and border enorcemen.

DHS is hitting and surpassing enforcement benchmarks

Many o hese same “border securiy rs” proponens argued our years ago ha we

could only implemen reorms o our immigraion laws afer specic enorcemen

benchmarks were me. Te 2007 reorm legislaion ha conained he benchmarks

ailed in he Senae, bu we demonsrae below ha over he las our years he bill’s

high goalposs were reached and exceeded.

Immigration and Customs

Enforcement removals under

Obama and Bush administrations

Source: http://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/ofces/ero/pd/ero-remova

Noncrimi

Criminal

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

FY 2007 FY 2010

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5 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

Our borders are more oried wih inrasrucure and personnel han ever beore, and

we now spend $17 billion a year on immigraion and border enorcemen. “A compleely 

secure border is impossible on our land borders,” C. Sewar Verdery, ormer assisan

secreary or border and ransporaion securiy policy a DHS,poins ou, “bu he

record is clear ha he U.S. governmen has made grea srides in gaining operaional

conrol o he souhern border.”

Ye our sysem remains broken despie his massive surge o enorcemen aciviy. More

han 5 percen o our workorce is undocumened. Hundreds o housands o individu-

als sill ener he Unied Saes wihou auhorizaion or oversay heir visas. And our

enorcemen budge will coninue o drain he naion’s coers wihou appreciably 

improving he inegriy o he sysem unil Congress owns up o is responsibiliy and

enacs undamenal reorms.

o pu a ne poin on his, we’ll review how he ollowing benchmarks, which were

included in he 2007 immigraion reorm bill, have been me.

Benchmark: Operational control of the Mexican border

Te 2007 legislaion direced he secreary o homeland securiy o esablish and dem-

onsrae operaional conrol o he U.S.-Mexico land border, which includes he abiliy 

o monior he border wih available mehods and echnology. As noed above, opera-

ional conrol is an unrealisic sandard ha DHS hinks does no reec he ull range

o border securiy aciviies.

In ac, Michael Fisher, he DHS border parol chie, recenly esied ha he agency isacively “aking seps o replace his oudaed measure wih perormance merics ha

more accuraely depic he sae o border securiy.”

In he meanime, he ollowing exraordinary eors make clear he ederal govern-

men’s susained commimen o securing he border:

• Te Cusoms and Border Proecion, or CBP, workorce has grown o 58,223 employ-

ees in FY 2010 compared o 44,058 employees in FY 2007, a 32 percen increase.

CBP has proposed an $11.8 billion budge or FY 2012 compared o $7.7 billion in

FY 2007. Te Immigraion and Cusoms Enorcemen, or ICE, budge also increased

o a $5.8 billion FY 2012 proposal, up rom $4.7 billion in FY 2007.

• Presiden Obama has auhorized he deploymen o 1,200 addiional Naional Guard

roops o augmen he Border Parol agens and CBP ocers already a he border.

U.S. Customs and

Border Protection and

Immigration and Customs

Enforcement budgets

In billions

FY 2007 FY 2012

IC

CB

$0

$2

$4

$6

$8

$10

$12

$14

$16

$18

$20

Source: FY2007 revised enacted budgets rom http://w

gov/xlibrary/assets/budget_bib-y2009.pd. FY2012 b

requests rom http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/buy2012.pd.

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6 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

• Border Parol apprehensions have declined by 36 percen over he las wo years,

indicaing ewer atemped and ewer successul border crossings. Border Parol appre-

hended 463,382 unlawul immigrans beween pors o enry in FY 2010. By conras,

hey apprehended 1.2 million persons in FY 2004.

• Te adminisraion now screens 100 percen o souhbound rail shipmens in search o 

illegal cash, drugs, and weapons as par o he Secure Border Iniiaive.

• CBP and ICE seized $282 million in illici currency along he souhwes border in

FY 2009 and FY 2010—a 35 percen increase compared o he previous wo years.

Tey also conscaed more han 6,800 rearms and more han 7 million pounds o 

drugs—a 28 percen and 16.5 percen increase, respecively, when compared o he

previous wo years.

• CBP had conrol o 449 miles o he souhwes border by he end o 2006 under

DHS’s curren deniion o “operaional conrol.” By he end o FY 2010, 873 souh-

wes border miles, or 44 percen o he lengh o he border, were under operaionalconrol, and he number o miles under operaional conrol is increasing by abou

126 miles a year since 2005. Te Yuma secor repored ha all 126 miles o is border

were under operaional conrol. oal conrol o all 1,950 miles o he U.S.-Mexico

border is impossible, bu CBP coninues o make grea srides in gaining conrol o 

imporan secors.

Benchmark: Staff enhancements for

Border Patrol

Te 2007 legislaion direced he CBP’s Border

Parol o pu in place 20,000 ull-ime agens repor-

ing or duy. Ta mandae was me and exceeded:

• Tere were 12,349 Border Parol agens in FY 

2006. oday here are 21,370 Border Parol

agens and over 20,600 CBP ocers a pors o 

enry. Te presiden’s FY 2012 budge calls or

mainaining his record-high number o agens.

• Te number o Border Parol agens on he

norhern border is now 2,200, a 700 percen

increase since Sepember 11, 2001.

Border Patrol agents

Each badge represents 1,000 agents

FY2007

14,923 agents

FY2012

BORD

ER

PATRO

L

BORD

ER

PATRO

L

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ER

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PATRO

L

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ER

PATRO

L

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ER

PATRO

L

BORD

ER

PATRO

L

BORD

ER

PATRO

L

BORD

E

PATRO

BORD

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PATRO

L

BORD

ER

PATRO

L

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ER

PATRO

L

BORD

ER

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PATRO

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BORD

ER

PATRO

L

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ER

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L

BORD

ER

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ER

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21,370 agents

Source: 2007 data rom http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/budget_bib-y2009.pd. 2012 data rom http://www.dhs

xlibrary/assets/budget-bib-y2012.pd.

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7 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

Benchmark: Strong border barriers

Te 2007 legislaion direced DHS o insall a leas 300 miles o vehicle barriers,

370 miles o encing, and 105 ground-based radar and camera owers along he

U.S.-Mexico land border, as well as deploy our unmanned aerial vehicles and heir

supporing sysems. Te legislaion wasn’ enaced, bu virually all o hose objecives

have been me:

• Te Deparmen o Homeland Securiy compleed consrucion o 299 miles o vehi-

cle barriers and 350 miles o pedesrian barriers in FY 2010, oaling approximaely 

649 miles ou o 652 planned miles o encing along he souhwes border. Congress

has allocaed a leas $2.6 billion or physical barriers since FY 2005.

• Currenly here are 130 airplanes and hree Unmanned Aircraf Sysems operaing

along he Souhwes border. Congress passed $600 million in supplemenal spending

appropriaions in Augus 2010 ha allow or an increase in unmanned aircraf sysems

along he border. Tese unmanned aircraf sysems now provide coverage along heenire souhwes border.

• CBP inends o add wo new or ward-operaing bases in addiion o seven already 

in operaion.

• In he FY 2012 budge $242 million is requesed o suppor new echnology along

he Souhwes border such as Inegraed Fixed owers. Tese are inended o be a

possible alernaive o he newly canceled Secure Borders Iniiaive.

Benchmark: An end to catch and release

Te legislaion direced DHS o deain all removable aliens apprehended illegally cross-

ing he U.S.-Mexico border excep as specically mandaed by ederal or sae law, or in

humaniarian circumsances. I was also old o give ICE he resources o mainain his

pracice, including he resources necessary o deain up o 31,500 aliens per day annually.

Tese benchmarks have been me:

• When he “cach and release” pracice was sill in place prior o 2006 approxi-

maely 66 percen o unlawul border crossers apprehended rom counries oher

han Mexico were released ino he Unied Saes pending removal hearings.

Approximaely 99 percen are now deained.

“A completely secure

border is impossible

on our land borders.

– C. Stewart Verde

ormer assistant secretary

border and transportatiosecurity policy at DH

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8 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

• ICE deenion and removal operaions have received signican budge and sa 

increases o manage his policy change, and immigran deenion has grown exponen-

ially. Te average daily populaion o deainees was 6,785 in FY 1994. Tis gure rose

o 30,885 in FY 2010, and i coninues o rise ino FY 2011 wih deenion aciliies

averaging a daily populaion o 33,331 over wo monhs.

Benchmark: Workplace enforcement tools

DHS was direced o—and auhorized o do so under he ailed 2007 legislaion—

esablish and use secure and eecive idenicaion ools o preven unauhorized work-

ers rom obaining employmen in he Unied Saes. Te legislaion ailed, bu DHS

sill made signican progress expanding volunary elecronic employmen vericaion

and enhancing worksie enorcemen eors:

• DHS has srenghened idenicaion ools or workplace enorcemen. Bu he

governmen’s abiliy o mandae elecronic employmen vericaion mus be ied oa program or legalizing he saus o he naion’s 11 million undocumened individu-

als. Deploying a mandaory employmen vericaion sysem wihou addressing he

11 million undocumened workers will drive more workers and employers ino he

underground economy, give a boos o documen raud and ideniy hef enerprises,

and hur U.S. workers raher han proec hem.

• A volunary elecronic vericaion program—E-Veriy—already exiss. Employers

who regiser on E-Veriy ener biographic daa rom a new hire’s Form I-9 (he ed-

eral orm ha mus be compleed by all workers and employers upon hiring) ino

he sysem. Many saes have enaced legislaion ha requires some or all employ-ers in he sae o use E-Veriy. Tree saes require all employers o use E-Veriy,

11 saes require program use or sae agencies and/or conracors, and 11 saes

have pending legislaion or required E-Veriy use. Te ederal governmen also

requires conracors o use E-Veriy.

• U.S. Ciizenship and Immigraion Services has overseen increased employer paricipa-

ion in E-Veriy rom 88,116 companies a he end o FY 2008 o more han 246,000

paricipaing employers in FY 2010, represening a 250 percen increase. An average

o 1,300 employers sign up each week.

• DHS uses employer sancions as an addiional employmen enorcemen ool.

A he sar o he Obama adminisraion ICE began argeing employers who

knowingly hire illegal workers hrough invesigaions, prosecuion, and civil and

criminal penalies.

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9 Center for American Progress |  The “Border Security First” Argument: A Red Herring Undermining Real Security

• ICE iniiaed 5,371 nancial invesigaions o employers in FY 2010. Tese led o

1,811 arress, 778 convicions, and $309.8 million in moneary and nonmoneary sei-

zures. ICE also conduced 2,196 Form I-9 inspecions in FY 2010 compared o 1,444

in FY 2009. Tese inspecions resuled in 196 arress and $42.9 million in civil nes,

oreiures, and resiuions.

Time to move beyond “security first”

“Border securiy rs” proponens are sanding in he way o more subsanial border

securiy. Tey are blocking enacmen o addiional layers o conrol ha would un-

nel migrans ino a legal sysem and resore he rule o law by requiring undocumened

immigrans o regiser, pay axes, and earn saus.

Blocking immigraion reorms ha are needed o acually accelerae and enhance border

securiy eors is he heigh o cynicism. I is high ime ha we sop enabling hose who

wan o play poliics wih his issue and sar supporing hose who wan o solve problems.

Te adminisraion’s commimen o border securiy and robus enorcemen is indis-

puable. Te American public’s desire or ough bu realisic soluions is clear. Federal

legislaors can no longer reasonably hide behind heir unpersuasive “border securiy 

rs” calls. Large-scale sysemic dysuncion will persis unil Congress can muser he

poliical courage o enac comprehensive immigraion reorms.

Marshall Fitz is Director for Immigration Policy, Angela Kelley is Vice President for 

Immigration Policy, and Ann Garcia is a Research Assistant for Immigration Policyat American Progress.